//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Behind the Moon and On the Other Side of the Rain // Story: The Truth of the Millennium // by Daemon McRae //------------------------------// The trip through the mirror was not what I had been expecting it to be. When last I heard it described it was like stepping through a rather assertive doorway. Of course, the last time I’d heard of anypony using the mirror it turned them into a rather strange variation of human. This time, however, was nothing like the story I’d heard. Falling through the mirror was much like being thrown out of the sky, along with being made to swim. There was the definitive sense of falling that one so commonly associates with being rather high up very suddenly for no apparent reason and no way to stay there. In spite of that, however, we were able to move… somewhat freely. I could drift back and forth as I pleased, while we made our journey. Although Sister Myr advised us very strongly not to do so. “This isn’t exactly an A to B mode of transport. Don’t drift too far or you’ll never know where you’ll find yourself. Or what will find you.” I felt it wise to heed her words, and simply made every attempt to… aim myself along the same trajectory the fox sister followed. Discord, of course, seemed to float in and out of my vision like a feather on the breeze. And, of course, he actually seemed to be swimming. I believe this is the closest thing to relaxed he gets. “Ah, nothing like a gentle dip into an interdimensional portal that’s ripping a hole through the very fabrics of spacetime,” Discord reflected, back stroking lazily to my position. Stretching out with a bored yawn, he began to swim directly around me, his control over his movements much more skilled and controlled than my own. “So, Lulu, you seem to be handling this rather well. Though I guess you get used to zero gravity if you’re queen of the moon and all that shebang.” Before I could get a retort in, Sister Myr appeared above Discord’s head. “What are you talking about? Holes in spacetime?” She giggled in that mischievous manner all foxes seem to possess for one reason or another. “Fool, this space has always been here. You didn’t think the dimensions were stacked on top of each other like sardines in the grand design, did you? This is the space between worlds. From one mirror to the next, there has always been distance between the realms. This is where I live. Think about that the next time you flex in front of a mirror, ‘Sex Bomb.’” She giggled again, and flew off. “Huh, and here I thought the dimensions were stacked like pancakes,” Discord muttered to himself, slowly tugging at his beard. “Though that whackjob coming from a place like this makes more sense now.” I raised an eyebrow at Discord. “Sex Bomb?” Discord shrugged, smiling wryly at me with that devious glint in his mismatched eyes. “Well, if you’re really interested in learning how I acquired that nickname, then…” I returned his smile. “It must have been something extremely recent, then. Last time I heard you were calling yourself ‘Mountain Man.’” Celestia, who – in all honesty – I had forgotten about entirely, floated behind me, coughing loudly. “Is it possible for us to return the conversation to something that doesn’t require steel wool for my mind’s eye?” she asked flatly. Not waiting for an answer, she turned to address Sister Myr. “Little one, how is it that you can live in this space? There is no food, no water. I’m not even sure how we are breathing.” “Magic,” Discord suggested with a grin, though we were wise enough to not take that answer seriously. Myr just looked back over her shoulder. “...You know, I take back what I said earlier. You really need to see Tirelic. There’s just so much about the universe you don’t know, child. I, for example, do not partake of food and drink like you mere candles in the wind. I consume all of the potential between the worlds that I see fit. Entire realms of possibility brought forth with a single notion of chance. You, of course, have heard of the theory that each and every decision creates multiple dimensions, hmm? One for each possible outcome? Well, I enjoy the rare delicacy of freshly minted realities. Entire worlds born out of a single decision without having the proper time to form. It is true that there are an infinite number of possibilities. But not all of them come true. My sisters and I see to that.” It looked for all the world that someone had taken a brick across my sister’s face. “Child? Do you have any idea how old I am? What are you, then, that we are ‘candles in the wind’ to you?” Discord rolled his eyes. “Oh great, here she goes now.” Sister Myr disappeared from my vision, and reformed inches from Celestia’s face. “I am but a sliver of existence in the sphere of reality. I have lived longer than most worlds. Your dimension is not new, nor is it old. And I have outlived your world by ages you cannot and could not comprehend. I watched through the reflections in the lakes as the first primordials crawled from the depths of your oceans. I observed through the sheen in the dew drops of the grass as the first ponies took steps. My sisters and I have watched from every shiny surface, every reflection, for longer than you have been alive. Exponentially longer. I have seen and heard things that would destroy the entire foundation of your culture and rule, Celestia. I would advise you hold your tongue, lest a Sister less benevolent than I hear something they shouldn’t from somepony who doesn’t know any better.” Myr disappeared after that, leaving us to fall on our own. I can only imagine what was going through my sister’s mind at the time. Discord, however… “You know what I hate about a know-it-all?” Discord asked us, zipping by in a loop-de-loop form of swimming. “They always have to get the last word in.” I nodded, as least somewhat in agreement. Celestia looked both appalled and contemplative. I could tell there was much more she wanted to say, but with nopony to address, she remained quiet while we finished our journey. Which ended much faster than I thought, in fact. One moment I’m floating through the aether between realms, watching my normally very composed sister brood quietly. The next, we’re not in the mirror anymore. I become very suddenly aware of hardwood floor beneath my hooves, as my orientation and perception change drastically. I had expected to fall through some kind of hole and tumbled to the ground. Not the sudden change in locale. It took me a few moments to gain my bearings, during which I could swear I heard snickering behind me. Once I had composed myself, I turned around to see where we had come from, and saw what was basically the exact same mirror we had traveled through, propped up against a dusty wall comprised of wooden paneling and loose nails. The mirror itself was different, in that it seemed to be a well-worn, dilapidated version of the one we left behind in Tartarus. Seeing no reason to continue inspecting the looking glass, I turned my attention to my travel companions. Discord was leaning nonchalantly against the wall, still sniggering like a child who knows a nefarious secret. Of course, I expected the trip to be a casual affair for one such as himself. Though of what he was so giddy about I had no idea, until I glanced in the direction his eyes were staring at. “So, Lulu, how do you like the digs on your sis?” he asked as I turned around. Celestia was standing before us, having knocked over a mannequin in her transition into this world. And unfortunately for her, she was draped in the remnants of its moth eaten remains. “Looking classy, Tia. Going for that old-timey look I see.” Making an attempt to regain her composure, she utilized her telekinesis in lifting the thing off of her. She shook her mane gracefully, and walked away without a word, as she started to explore the room we had landed in. Of course, in doing so, I saw something in her. Something I most likely would not have caught if I hadn’t been looking for it. Effort. It had been actual work to move the mannequin any distance for her. I traded a silent glance with Discord, who I knew had seen the same thing. He smiled wider. She simply ignored it, and any chance we might have noticed, however, as she poked about curiously amongst all of the odds and ends. It was then that I noticed where we were. Or most likely had landed. It appeared to be the basement of an antique store, dusty and unused, lined with row after row of heavily stocked and poorly organized shelves of knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, and assorted odds and ends. I looked about myself cautiously. Antique shops are never a safe place. “What, pray tell, is any of this supposed to be?” I heard Celestia ask nopony in particular as she wandered about. I followed the sound of her voice, and rounded a corner, just as she was picking up a rather small candleholder. I took a second to scrutinize the relic. And another second to rush forward and wrest it from my sister’s hooves, placing it back on the shelf as far away as possible. “Don’t touch that!” I barked. Her response, aside from obvious shock, was to level a rather disapproving glare at me. “What has gotten into you, sister?” she asked accusingly. I pointed a hoof at the item in question: a small black candle wrapped in the grip of a severed monkey’s forepaw. “That. Is not something to be picked up and idly manhandled, sister. It is a dangerous and powerful item that only the most daring and possibly insane dare use. This entire dimension is full of such objects of power, along with a variety of other rather nasty and unpredictable odds and ends. This,” I added, waving my hoof about the room, “is the basement of an antiques shop. One of the most deceitfully distressful places a world such as this can produce.” My sister looked at me like I had lost my mind. In return, I gave her a look she knew very well, having used it on me on multiple occasions: that of a disapproving matron. We stared at each other for a tense moment. FInally, I broke away, sighing heavily. “Look, sister, you are completely new to these environs. I can understand your curiosity, especially given your motivation for coming here. But please believe me when I say it is in your best interest to let us guide you, to trust me when I say something is dangerous, and to keep your hooves to yourself. You have no rule here, remember that. This entire world is full of fallen kings and misplaced matriarchs from any and all walks of life. You and I are nothing special here. And this world will take every opportunity to remind us of that.” Discord reached out for the candlestick wrapped with the dismembered monkey appendage. Rubbing the small fingers of the paw in an almost loving manner, Discord muttered, “Ah, poor Mister Bananas. All he wanted to do was play the piano. And now all he’ll be playing are the organs of death in the netherworld.” Shrugging, Discord threw the candlestick over his shoulder, where it promptly crashed against the back wall. An animalistic howl could be heard from the fallen candlestick for a few seconds. “Oh well, accidents happen. Or rather, selling your soul to an Old One. Always did tell him it wasn’t worth the five bits, but eh, he never was the smartest ape in the banana tree. Or was it coconut tree…?” Every inch of me flinched horribly as the magical artifact crashed into the wooden paneling. The monkey’s howl echoed in my ears, before I trotted over and picked it up. Placing it on a very high shelf with my magic, I shuddered as I could feel its taint through my aura. I scanned the rest of the room, scrutinizing individual pieces and shying away from the implications of so much magical potential in such a small space. Discord was glancing at the relics with mild interest, almost as if he was window shopping. My sister seemed to have been lost in thought for a few moments, before finally addressing me. “Luna… I’m sorry. I know you are trying to protect me, as I have put you in a position most uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. I won’t lie, I know nothing of this place, and – if I am to believe what you have told me – I am in need of some kind of… guide through these lands. So for now I shall trust your judgement. Lead the way.” I decided to forego commenting on her use of the phrase “For now,” and instead focus on the fact that she had decided not to go poking around a magical nuke factory. My time spent revelling in my small victory was brief, however, as I heard heavy footsteps from the corner of the room, followed by the opening and closing of a large wooden door. There was faint grumbling coming from the aisles. “Bloody busybodies raiding my shop and trying to walk away with all my stuff. Should just plant landmines every five feet or something, that’d learn ‘em. WHO’S DOWN THERE?!” the voice yelled. “Your mother!” Discord called back, snickering in his usual mischievous manner. Celestia and my own glares had no effect on ending his giggling fit. The voice stopped for a moment, as did the footsteps. “Oh, god-dammit. Please tell me that’s not who I think it is.” The footsteps drew closer, and a grimy old man stepped out from behind a shelving unit. “Oh, dammit, it is. Hello, Discord. What are you doing in my basement this time?” “Oh, you know, the usual,” Discord replied, leaning on his hand against the wall while pointing to the two of us. “Traveling across dimensions, escorting prissy pony princesses to one of the most dangerous planes of existence in the multiverse, getting a few groceries on the way. Maybe milk, if I forgot to stock up at home.” Humming under his breath, Discord appeared to be mulling over his thoughts for a moment. “Oh, and catch up with a few friends and/or enemies along the way. So, Al, how’s the shopkeeping and illegal smuggling trade going for ya?” ‘Al’, the old shopkeeper, propped himself up on his walking cane. “Not bad. Of course, it’s not illegal here… technically. It’s just rude.” “Also one for proper mannerism, I see.” Discord winked at the gnarly old man. Turning to Celestia, Discord sweeped his paw in Al’s direction. “Oh yeah, I forgot proper introductions. Al, this is Celestia, butt princess of ponyland! Celestia, this is Al. He’s related to the animal’s dismembered paw that was holding that candlestick you almost misused and would’ve caused all our demises by.” Celestia looked so taken aback I thought she was walking backwards. “Is that… are you a human?” she asked quietly. “I didn’t think they looked... well… I don’t know what I thought you’d look like. I can guess from your shape that you’re much like what my protege described you as, but… there’s something rather different about you.” Al shrugged, nonplussed. “Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting ponies and snake-things to wander into my basement and start walking around all willy-nilly. How’d you get in here, anyway?” he asked Discord. He seemed to be ignoring me. “Sneaked in the backway,” Discord replied, pointing with a thumb at the mirror behind us. “Surprised the foxy sista didn’t claw my face off after our last encounter, but I think that’s because they have a sweet spot for little Woona here.” Discord grabbed at my cheeks and pushed them together so that my lips puckered up. “And hey, Al, check here how much Woona’s grown! Remember when she was just the cutest little almost-tyrant? Now she’s all grown up!” Discord wiped a fake tear from his eye. “They grow up so fast…” Al seemed to do a double take at that point. “Wai—Nightmare Moon?! What happened to you?” I smiled at him. “It’s a long story. But it’s good to see you again. I’m glad the shop is still open. But please stop leaving such powerful items lying around.” “Oh hey, there’s that sign!” Discord said, pointing to a sign centered above the shelves with the clear black ink spelling out the words ‘DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING, DISCORD!’ on its surface. “Ha, you actually believed I’d listen to that! Pfft!” I chuckled slightly. It was good to have a familiar face as the first person we saw. I looked behind him to see the way he had come. “Is there any chance you could show us the way out? My sister here wants to see the city.” Al looked about the three of us, and nodded. “Sure. Anything to get him the hell out of my shop.” “Oh Al, you wound me. Strike down my heart with your hateful words. Burn my soul with your condescending nature.” Discord sighed with an overly dramatic manner and held a paw to his forehead. “And here I thought we were friends. Or acquaintances. Rather, guys who tolerate the other’s presence.” Al didn’t even look over his shoulder as he walked towards the door. “You’re not dead yet, are you?” Neither Celestia nor I seemed to think there was any such proper response to such a claim, so we followed the old man up the stairs. The main floor of the shop looked much like the basement, except slightly more decorative. I also noticed the items marked as for sale were significantly less dangerous and powerful than his private stores. Each shelf seemed to be arranged with slightly more care than the downstairs, if only because Al was, in fact, a store owner, and did need to make a sale every now and then. The room still looked a mess from every angle. Even if it was slightly more organized. Almost as if Discord himself had been responsible for its layout. “Thank you, Al. It is good to see you again.” The old man nodded, but didn’t seem to return the sentiment. He was still eyeing Discord, who had taken to meandering the stuff for sale. Part of me wanted to remind him that we didn’t exactly have money, but I knew Al well enough to know he could take care of him and his just fine. Celestia also seemed to be eyeing the shop carefully, as if expecting something familiar to spring forth from a bargain bin or some sense of home to come flooding in from a display case. I could tell she felt much like I had when I’d first arrived: alienated and lost. No sense of direction and no signs of home. Everything in Tirelic was so far removed from the normals of Equestrian society that it made me wonder, time and time again, if we weren’t the strange ones. I stepped lightly up to my sister, and nudged her shoulder. “Tia, are you well?” She looked startled for a moment, then sighed as her gaze fell upon a small set of dice in a red velvet case. “There is… so much that I assumed about this place, Lulu. That it would be a place full of ponies, much like home. That I would be able to take one look at it and see for myself what kind of hell it could be. But look at me. We haven’t even left the shop and I still don’t know what to do with everything.” Her voice wasn’t so much that of sadness and isolation, like I’d first assumed. It seemed to hold a hint of wonder, and curiosity. The sadness was there, yes. But masked well by other things. “And a human! A human, of all creatures! First that little fox-spirit, and now… tell me, Luna, are there any ponies here? Are we truly alone?” I didn’t get a chance to answer. Al stepped in, taking a glance at the dice Celestia had been eyeing. He closed the case gently, and gave my sister his attention. “Yes, there are. But not the kind you’re expecting. I know where you come from, Princess. All of you. I’ve spent my fair share of time with these two, and I’ve heard quite a few stories. Let me tell you, the ponies here are few and far between, and nothing like home. But they’re still ponies, deep down. You’ll see for yourself. Now, I have one question for you, if you don’t mind.” Celestia nodded, seemingly grateful for his straightforward answer. “Yes, sir?” He drew himself up to his full, although not substantial height, and asked loudly. “Are any of you lot actually here to buy anything?!” “How much for this raygun?” Discord called out, holding a cheap plastic toy in his claw. It said ‘Blast Master 9000’ on the side in flaking paint, and I guessed that it was a couple of decades old. Just like everything else in this shop. What I was truly curious about is why Discord would actually want to possess such a tacky toy. I mean, sure, it was Discord, but it wasn’t like we brought any bits for the tri— An accidental discharge from the what I assumed to be harmless toy blasted through the roof in green laser splendor, leaving a gaping, smoking hole in the ceiling. Looking down at the smoking barrel of the incredibly dangerous toy gun, Discord smiled and said, “Say Al, do I get the best friend’s discount or what?” “OUT!” I grumbled under my breath as the three of us marched down the street outside. “You really didn’t have to blow a hole in his shop, Discord. What if you’d started a chain reaction?” “Like that one incident at Rainbowville?” Discord asked, staring off into the distance in a flashback of nostalgia. “Ah, I remember it well. Good times, good times. Though that angry mob and calls for skinning me alive weren’t so welcomed. I mean, seriously, have you seen my skin? Absolutely filthy! Hardly suited for the extravagant art of a tanner.” I rolled my eyes and ignored his rantings as usual, instead looking to my sister for conversation. My words hung on my lips, however, as I noticed that she had stopped some several steps behind us, and was staring off into the distance. I backtracked enough to fall within speaking distance of her, but kept my mouth shut. Instead, I decided to look where she was looking, to see what caught her attention. No matter how much time I spend here, and regardless of how many times I see it, the landscape of Tirelic, or, more specifically, it’s trade capitol, Mecca, never ceased to amaze me. It was an expanse of foreign and familiar architecture blended with the raw natural structure of the earth beneath it. For miles in either direction lay expanses of grand buildings both old and new, melded into natural rock and tree formations like they themselves had grown up from them. All of the visions of the future in chrome and glass and magnificent color stood inches away and in deep contrast to the ancient wood-and-stone archetypes of homes, shops, and all manner of miscellaneous buildings. The center of Mecca was a raised hill, so that no matter what direction you came from, walking to the center, you were always on the way up. The closer you got to the core, the better the money was. People and creatures of various power sat at the center, while the outskirts were the slums and dilapidated shacks of the poor. Each and every lifestyle reflected itself in the landscape, in the streets, the windows, and doors. But the real attraction, the great mystery and adventure of this world, were its inhabitants. Along each and every street corner, a multitude of races, a practical menagerie of population, went about its unknowable daily life without a thought or care to spend for its fellow whatever-you-were. Men of power strode through the crowds of the hungry while street peddlers stood on every corner and in front of every important building, selling basically anything anyone was willing to pay money for. You could buy anything in the Mecca, as long as the money was right and the intent was wrong. Noone had scruples for their wares. After all, the salesman doesn’t use it, and God help the poor soul who doesn’t know what he has until it’s killing him. The sheer diversity amongst the species was something else entirely, not just of social class and status, but biologically. There was the typical fare of Equestrian natives (though we were far from Equestria now): Griffins, ponies of various tribes and some of dubious origin. Dragons, old and young. A minotaur stood guard outside a nightclub, dressed in the very best other people’s money could buy, just to let you know that the money was indeed good enough to warrant him skinning you alive should you cross him. Of course, out of all the creatures and abominations that inhabited Tirelic, one of the strangest were the original inhabitants of the land. The ponies, or rather, the first generation of them. Differentiating from the ponies in Equestria in squatter height and build, their muzzles were fuller, their colors more tacky and generally them being seen as… off. Like they didn’t belong here. Even though these lands were originally theirs, before the incident that wiped out many of their numbers. Generally they were now seen as oddities, and often times disassociated with every other race, even being separated by their own ponykind. A sad fate for such an ancient race, that’s for sure. But that’s where most of the similarities ended between my homeland and the world we found ourselves in now. For amongst the surprisingly sparse population of Equestrians strode humans of all sizes, some very obviously only holding on to their humanity with duct tape and glue. Not to mention the other fantastical and fanatical races: elves, dwarves, wraiths, demons, angels, abominations of all kinds. All walking together, away from each other, or just passing by as if they did this every day of their lives. Which, in fact, they did. Celestia stood, mouth agape, staring at the world that had unfolded before her. “Dear sister,” I chuckled, gently closing her mouth with a hoof, “it is impolite to stare. And what would mother say if she saw you standing around with your mouth as open as a barn door?” “I can imagine a few choice words,” Discord said with a bit of snark, nudging Celestia with his shoulder. Glancing around, Discord just stared at everything with a bored expression, a deep contrast to Celestia’s awe. “Sheesh, you’d expect after a year’s absence some things would change about this dump. No new coats of paint to be seen anywhere. And litter is still a rampant problem. You’d think they’d take better care of the streets, but no, the world is just everyone’s big ol’ trashbin!” Off to the side, near the street, and close to the row of buildings a brawl could be seen taking place. Apparently it was between this cross minotaur cheating out a griffon in a game of dice on the street corner, with the poor griffon now struggling for air in the minotaur’s crushing grip. Smiling widely, Discord said, “Ah, it’s good to see some things never change, am I right?” I looked about me, and back to my sister. “This, dear Tia, is only the start. This universe is massive, expansive, and doesn’t follow any of the normal rules. In fact, there’s quite a bit of evidence here that we, as ponies, may be the exception to a few of those rules. Now come, there is a lot to see before long.” I urged her along, herding my sister down the street before she regained some of her composure and walked about like an eager child. I was just glad she hadn’t noticed the sky.